Prince Harry Says He Was Forced to Follow Royal Family's 'Never Complain' Strategy Despite Invasive Stories
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Prince Harry claims he had to follow the royal family's "never complain, never explain" policy when it came to the pressThe Duke of Sussex is taking legal action against a British publisher, claiming they used illegal methods to obtain news stories about himHarry took the stand in London to give testimony
Prince Harry says he's "always had an uneasy relationship" with the media, but his position in the royal family stopped him from speaking out.
The Duke of Sussex, 41, is in London this week as the trial is underway against Associated Newspapers — the publisher of the U.K. outlets Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday — who are accused of using unlawful methods to gather information. Harry is one of several high-profile claimants in the case, along with Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley and Jude Law's ex-wife, Sadie Frost.
Prince Harry took the stand to give testimony on Wednesday, Jan. 21, and his witness statement details why he didn't speak up sooner about the invasive stories about him and his relationships.
In the witness statement, Harry cites the death of his mother, Princess Diana, as the beginning of his discomfort with the media. However, as a "member of the Institution," referring to the British royal family, he had to follow their "policy" of "never complain, never explain."
"There was no alternative; I was conditioned to accept it," he says.
Prince Harry arriving at court in London on Jan. 21, 2026.
JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP via Getty
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Thought to originate from 19th-century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, the "never complain, never explain" motto was adopted by Queen Elizabeth's late mother, the Queen Mother, and the rest of the family largely followed suit when it came to contentious public matters.
Royal biographer Penny Junor previously told PEOPLE, "There has been a long tradition in the British royal family of riding criticism out and keeping your head down and taking the long view. Crises come and go, and people get criticized — often for five minutes by the media, who then move on."
However, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took a stand against negative press stories, launching legal action against the Mail on Sunday for publishing a private letter she sent to her father as well as against The Sun and The Daily Mirror over alleged interceptions of his cell phone voicemails.
Prince Harry says in his witness statement, "In late 2016, when my relationship with Meghan, my now wife, became public, I started to become increasingly troubled by the approach of not taking action against the press in the wake of vicious persistent attacks on, harassment of and intrusive, sometimes racist articles concerning Meghan. The situation got worse when she became pregnant and after our son, Archie, was born."
The Duke of Sussex claims that reporters and others involved with Associated Newspapers "targeted me and those closest to me via unlawful methods in an effort to obtain, and misuse, my private information and whereabouts which was subsequently published in its newspapers," with the lawsuit focusing on 14 stories published between 2001 and 2013.
"Those unlawful information gathering techniques included the hacking of my voicemails, landline tapping, blagging, obtaining itemised phone bills, hardwire tapping, and obtaining private flight information for my former girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, amongst other criminal methods, all of which was deliberately undertaken with the purpose of publishing articles about me in the Defendant’s newspapers because it made them money," he continues.
Prince Harry leaves court on Jan. 19, 2026.
Toby Shepheard/AFP via Getty
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Prince Harry and Meghan stepped back from their roles as working members of the royal family in 2020 and relocated to her home state of California, where they are raising their two children.
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